Former political prisoner and President of South of Africa Nelson Mandela passed away on Thursday December 5th. He was imprisoned for 27 years for battling against apartheid in South Africa. He was elected the first black President of the country after apartheid was ended.
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One of my pet peeves about the Humanist movement is that some support the use of religious words or activities in Humanist settings. Using such words in the context of a nontheistic philosophy like Humanism not only causes public confusion but also dilutes our message and shows a lack of conviction of our own principles, not to mention it is a bit silly. We should define ourselves and not let the religious do it.
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Earlier this week Oprah Winfrey interviewed endurance swimmer Diana Nyad, who recently completed the swim between Cuba and the US at age 64. Nyad said she is an atheist who appreciates the awe and beauty of nature. Winfrey was gobsmacked and actually said Nyad can’t be an atheist because only believers can appreciate the beauty of nature. Winfrey expressed a typical, and false theist meme about atheists.
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The Nebraska Supreme Court, ruling 5-2 on Friday, denied a teen permission to have an abortion. The girl feared retribution from her extremely religious foster parents and also admitted she wouldn’t be able to adequately provide for a child. Nebraska requires written consent of parents for a minor to get an abortion or the child can ask a judge if they fear retribution from their parents. It seems the court disregarded the teen’s situation in reaching their decision.
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One tool humanists should have in their tool box of life is Skepticism. It’s the notion that we don’t accept something without testable evidence to back it up. It can lead us to the truth of something or to establish the facts of something. One doesn’t use skepticism just to be contrary. Skepticism can take practice to perfect but once you learn how, it will make your humanism stronger.
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One issue the Secular Coalition of America (SCA) is working on in Washington DC is secular tax reform. Churches and other religious groups have advantages under the current tax code that other nonprofits don’t. The SCA would like to see the rules applied equally to all tax exempt groups. You can help out get the message to Congress.
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